Free Republic

A Paleolithic teenaged boy whose remains were discovered in northwest Italy's Ardene Candide cave in 1942 immediately earned the nickname Il Principe, or "the Prince," because of the richness of the grave goods found in his 27,500-year-old burial. Researchers noticed that he had also suffered traumatic injuries to his upper body, but at the time they were unable to establish exactly what had happened to him. According to a statement issued by the University of Montreal, an international team of researchers has finally determined that the young man was likely attacked by a bear. The team reexamined the boy's skeletal...

XAI owner Elon Musk attacked rival artificial intelligence companies like OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, accusing them of being “woke” and biased on culture war issues, as his company rolled out a public beta of the latest version of the AI model powering its chatbot Grok—which the billionaire insisted “must win” the AI race.

One area where Republicans need to do a better job is learning to play the long game in politics, especially in the courts. Today, on issue after issue, the Trump administration is losing battles at the lower levels of the judicial system, while frequently winning at the appellate level. Lower courts are composed of younger judges who, as they gain experience, rise in the judicial ranks. The rulings we see today at those lower levels will in the future be made by older, more liberal judges, at all levels, including the Supreme Court. This will hold true if the Republicans...

The Trump administration is closer to a major war in the Middle East than most Americans realize. It could begin very soon.Why it matters: A U.S. military operation in Iran would likely be a massive, weeks-long campaign that would look more like full-fledged war than last month's pinpoint operation in Venezuela, sources say.The sources noted it would likely be a joint U.S.-Israeli campaign that's much broader in scope — and more existential for the regime — than the Israeli-led 12-day war last June, which the U.S. eventually joined to take out Iran's underground nuclear facilities. Such a war would have...

Sitting down to put your socks on, seeing previous clothes come back into fashion and asking 'who?' when watching the Brit Awards are all signs you are getting on. The study was by American Pistachio Growers, which has partnered with actor John Thomson, 56, to urge mid-life adults to age positively. 1. Talking about aches and pains with friends 2. Groaning when bending down 3. Preferring quiet venues to noisy ones 4. Preferring a quiet drink over a night out 5. Enjoying an early night 6. Not caring about the latest fashion trends 7. Thinking that new music isn't as...

It happened again. Another Democratic politician posed for a photo while attempting to cook meat on a grill. This time it was Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D., Va.) who tried to look normal by grilling a substance some claim was intended to represent "beef." The governor posted a photo of herself on X along with the caption "Order up!" and a steak emoji. Many remarked upon the hideous appearance of the alleged meat, as well as the deranged grin on Spanberger's face—the manic visage of an overmedicated wine mom about to mow down a rival's goldendoodle with her luxury SUV. It...

The United States is rapidly accelerating toward a definitive tipping point in its financial history, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) wrote in response to the latest 10-year outlook from the Congressional Budget Office. The nonpartisan budget watchdog issued a stark assessment: The current trajectory of borrowing, which is running at double the 50-year historical average, is simply mathematically unsustainable. The CRFB cautioned that without immediate legislative intervention, the federal government faces a future defined by exploding interest costs, insolvent trust funds, and a national debt burden that will shatter post–World War II records within four years. It...

Gavin Newsom’s whirlwind weekend in Germany will cost a pretty penny, paid for by a secretive nonprofit that’s run by his longtime aides and receives money from special interests, The California Post has learned. The invite-only Munich Security Conference is being held across two luxury hotels in Old Town Munich — the Hotel Bayerischer Hof and Rosewood — and Newsom’s itinerary includes two sessions on climate change and transatlantic relations. The likely 2028 presidential candidate also plans to ink a partnership with Ukraine and have a powwow with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz while rubbing elbows with foreign leaders and business...

YORBA LINDA, California — Fifty yards from Richard Nixon’s grave, which sits not quite in the shadow of the modest home where he was born, a series of exhibits at his presidential library describe him as a psychologically unbalanced fool. The Nixon White House, museum display panels announce, was consumed by “a climate of deep suspicion.” The infamous Plumbers took action against “perceived political opponents within the Federal Government.” A video display allows visitors to choose clips on the theme of Nixon’s “Conspiracy Thinking.” Paranoid, the president mindlessly lashed out at enemies that he hallucinated. This is still the official...

n February 12, The New Republic’s Editor, Michael Tomasky, published a 10,000-word piece of his own entitled “What the Democrats Need to Do Now,” with the subheading explaining that this was the plan “to win back working-class voters” by showing that the Democrats “are on their side,” and “picking fights on their behalf.” My mind was blown reading it. The cognitive dissonance was dizzying. He really does think Dems are pure as the driven snow with nothing but good intentions, and gosh darn it, they’re just not fighting hard enough, nor have they fought hard enough in the past. We...

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday that all U.S. airlines must certify they are conducting merit-based hiring for pilots or face a federal investigation. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the action was to address "allegations of airlines hiring based on race and sex," and added under the directive "all U.S. carriers will be required to certify this practice is terminated." Shortly after taking office in January 2025, President Donald Trump issued sweeping executive orders to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the United States and pressured the private sector to join the initiative....

A video has emerged of Senate Democratic leader Charles E. Schumer in 1996 talking about the importance of ID checks to prevent welfare fraud by illegal immigrants. The video is going viral online as Mr. Schumer and the rest of his party now vehemently oppose Republicans’ voter ID legislation. He describes the GOP-authored SAVE America Act, which requires photo ID at the polls and proof of citizenship to register to vote, as “Jim Crow 2.0” and says it is designed to disenfranchise minorities. “Let’s admit the truth. Everywhere people go, they’re asked for a Social Security card. In fact, one...

WALLKILL - A former state auditor accused of stealing more than $400,000 from the town of Wallkill while reviewing its finances pleaded guilty to a felony public corruption charge. Tobias Otieno, 41, of Hyde Park, admitted Tuesday in Wallkill Town Court that he stole $405,843.25 from Wallkill between June 23, 2022, and Sept. 1, 2024, while assigned to audit the town on behalf of the state comptroller's office. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a prison sentence of four to 12 years when Otieno is sentenced on June 1, according to a release from Orange County District Attorney David...

In what is becoming a regular occurrence, someone trans-identifying is accused of committing a mass murder, this time during a high school hockey game, in suburban Rhode Island. Robert Dorgan, who preferred to be called Roberta, killed his ex-wife and one of his own children and shot three more people before turning the gun on himself. In 2020, Dorgan had told police that he was being kicked out of his home, by his father-in-law, after Dorgan had undergone “gender-reassignment surgery.” In the days leading up to the slaughter, Dorgan posted on X, “keep bashing us. but do not wonder why...

When all the ‘release valves’ for a civil society have been welded shut, society stops being ‘civil.’ It seems as if every month a new story comes out of Britain warning about the likelihood of future civil war. Retired colonel Richard Kemp recently gave a television interview during which he warned that the “Islamification” of the United Kingdom would lead to “inevitable conflict.” Several British academics specializing in the preconditions for civil conflict, including professors David Betz and Michael Rainsborough, have argued the same point. Kemp’s point of view carries the added weight of someone who has witnessed insurgent fighting...

...the Beauty of Killing Fascists: This review was certainly planned differently, on the assumption that this would be a conventionally proceeding first night. But now one has to start with the ending. In the final scene, the 'fascist' has the floor - that is, the far-right politician who hasn't said a single word until now, just waited for his execution by a large group of committed anti-fascists, who have made such actions a recurring ritual for seventy years. So Tiago Rodrigues' play ends with a very long monologue in which the prisoner delivers the usual nonsense from JD Vance, AfD,...

The Florida state House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday afternoon that seeks to rename the Palm Beach County International Airport after President Donald Trump as a companion bill makes its way through the state Senate. The legislation passed the Republican-led House in an 81-30 split, according to the Florida Phoenix. The renaming effort, if passed by both chambers and signed by Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, could cost as much as $5.5 million. Republicans in the state's lower chamber said the renaming is to honor Trump's impact on Palm Beach, which has gained prominence because it's the location of...

The 162-article draft "constitution," however, shows that, if and when the Palestinians have a state of their own, it would actually not be different from the two mini-states they have had for the past two decades: the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank. Both Palestinian regimes have miserably failed their people, mainly by depriving them of international aid, democracy, opportunity, free elections, and freedom of speech. Notably, the new "constitution" repeats and reaffirms the long-standing and familiar positions and policies of the PA and Hamas, especially towards Israel and Jews. These...

18 February 2026 Ash Wednesday St.Kuriakose Elias Chavara Pilgrim Centre, Mannanam, IndiaReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(II).First readingJoel 2:12-18Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn‘Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –come back to me with all your heart,fasting, weeping, mourning.’Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn,turn to the Lord your God again,for he is all tenderness and compassion,slow to anger, rich in graciousness,and ready to relent.Who knows if he will not turn again, will not relent,will not leave a blessing as he passes,oblation and libationfor the Lord your God?Sound the trumpet in...

Buffalo Wild Wings can keep calling its menu item "boneless wings," a federal judge ruled Tuesday, dismissing a lawsuit that claimed the name amounted to false advertising. U.S. District Judge John Tharp in Illinois issued a 10-page ruling allowing the sports bar chain to continue calling its menu item "boneless wings," after a Chicago man filed a lawsuit accusing the restaurant of false advertising, saying the boneless wings were overpriced because they are essentially chicken nuggets. While Aimen Halim argued in the lawsuit that Buffalo Wild Wings should call the product something different, like "chicken poppers," Tharp said the argument...